Three essays in effects of social protection programs on labor mobility: The case of Mexico | Posted on:2012-12-31 | Degree:Ph.D | Type:Dissertation | University:The University of Chicago | Candidate:Azuara Herrera, Oliver | Full Text:PDF | GTID:1456390011957412 | Subject:Economics | Abstract/Summary: | | Social protection systems are designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability. During the last decades several middle income countries have expanded their social protection programs, but research regarding their effects of this expansion on labor market outcomes and demographic trends remains scant.;This dissertation explores how social protection programs affect labor related outcomes and demographic trends in Mexico. This country constitutes an ideal ground to study this topic. About half of the Mexican population is considered poor and about the same fraction of the labor force works in informal jobs. A new social protection system based on two pillars was created during the last decade: A conditional cash transfer Progresa-Oportunidades , and a non-contributory system of social protection in health that provides a minimum set of health benefits to the population not covered by the social security through an insurance scheme called Seguro Popular .;The first essay in this dissertation analyzes the long-term effects of Progresa-Oportunidades on migration decisions. There is little evidence of CCT's long-term effects on labor and migration decisions. The experimental component of Progresa-Oportunidades is inadequate to explore this question. I use a regression discontinuity design. The estimates show that in those villages where all households were covered by the program migration resulted in a 5 percentage point drop in population during 1997--2000 and 10 percentage points between 1997 and 2005.;In the second essay, Marinescu and I examine the impact of Progresa-Oportunidades and Seguro Popular on informality. The variation in time and municipalities show that, surprisingly, neither program significantly affected overall informality between 2002 and 2009. These results suggest that payroll financed health insurance does not affect wages or labor mobility in Mexico.;The third essay examines the impact of universal health coverage on cohabitation, marriage, and labor force participation. Economic gains from marriage decrease when non-labor income increases among partners. The analysis of this paper shows that non-contributory health insurance coverage has a significant negative effect on the probability of marriage among poor and low educated males and females, and a positive effect on the probability of cohabitation. | Keywords/Search Tags: | Social protection, Labor, Effects, Essay | | Related items |
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